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A Yellowknife veterinarian estimates a dog tied up so long the rope was cutting into its throat had about 24 hours left to live when it was rescued.

The police are now investigating the case of animal cruelty.

Dr. Tom Pisz says the young dog had been tied up and then neglected so long he began to outgrow the rope around its neck, requiring surgery.

"He was malnourished, he suffered general septicemia from the wound, and the wound was extremely deep to the muscle in his neck," Pisz says. "It actually had ruptured his trachea, so when he was breathing the air was coming through a small hole in his trachea.”

The rope cut a deep wound into the dog's throat, rupturing the trachea.

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The dog was also starving and dehydrated, but now seems happy and full of energy. The only sign of the horrible past it survived is a shaved neck and the healing scar of a surgical incision.

Dana Martin, vice-president of the NWT Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says the dog is now ready for adoption.

“Now he's bouncy and happy and interested in things, and he's not in pain. He was in quite a bit of pain when he first arrived,” Martin says.

The dog, now named Brave, was moved out of the animal shelter to a foster home Monday night.

A woman in Toronto who read about Brave on the SPCA’s Facebook page called the animal hospital and paid the entire cost of his treatment.